The Freddy Adu Era Opens in Salt Lake City

Freddy Adu stepped on the green painted Fieldturf at Rice-Eccles Stadium Saturday evening looking for a fresh start in his usual No. 11 jersey. This time it wasn't for the U.S. Under-17 or Under-20 national teams, nor was it for his former club in MLS, D.C. United.

That's because Adu is 17 years old, though he's a veteran in the league, an anomaly for somebody considered one of the youngest to ever play a professional sport. Was he nervous?

"No, no. I felt nervous for my first game in the league, but not today."

In fact, though he was back playing for his old Under-17 national team coach in John Ellinger, Adu was in a strange uniform and in an even stranger land and so nervousness wouldn't have been out of the question. But Adu is not your typical kid; with endorsements ranging in the millions of dollars and more to come, Freddy is using this opportunity at Real Salt Lake as a springboard to something greater. That is, he's trying to silence all of the critics who think he's washed up.

Real Salt Lake, then, is his opportunity to right the ship and silence all the doubters.

And instead of playing his first game in an RSL uniform at his typical position, attacking central midfield, Freddy found himself at wing. For soccer purists, they know wing midfield means playing some defense, which is something Adu is not normally accustomed to doing.

But the plan Ellinger hatched seemed to work in the first half, as Adu sprinted down the left wing time and time again, sending balls into the middle and forcing a backpedaling FC Dallas backline to make adjustments at halftime. Whatever Adu was doing, it obviously worked.

"It's fun. It makes me feel great and want to go out there and play well for the fans. That's what I'm certainly going to set out to do next week; now I've just got to take care of myself and try to be at 100 percent."

By the time Jeff Cunningham scored his second goal of the game to make it 2-1 for Real Salt Lake, Adu had done his job on the left flank and will wait another day to gather his first individual point in a Real Salt Lake uniform. But Adu did help RSL get the team's first point of the season in its 2-2 tie, which may go a long way toward explaining to critics how the arrival of Freddy Adu actually helped RSL in its first game of the season and how it will help in the long 30-game stretch.

And even though Adu played a relatively good game in his first game for RSL, he deflected all praise toward the team. From the looks of things--and after so many rumblings of discontent in D.C.--Freddy Adu has finally become a professional, after all these years.

"We know we played well, we just need to close out games better. We're just going to focus on that and do better next time."

Final statistics for Freddy Adu:

- 90 minutes played, 3 shots, one shot on goal

Source : Real Salt Lake public relations